The Golden Bachelor was quite the phenomenon when it premiered in 2023, with Gerry Turner winning over even those who aren’t fans of reality dating shows with his wholesome yet tragic story of searching for love again after his wife’s death. Now, with a new season hitting the 2025 TV schedule this month, we’ll see Mel Owens on his own, very different journey. To that point, there’s one big distinction between the two leads, and I’m excited to see Season 2 tackle this topic.
Former NFL linebacker Mel Owens was named the lead of The Golden Bachelor Season 2, but unlike Gerry Turner in the first go-round, Owens isn’t a widower. The 66-year-old and his ex-wife, Fabiana Owens, 46, were married for 17 years before splitting in 2020. Their divorce was reportedly finalized in December 2024. Showrunner Jess Castro told EW this is an opportunity to explore new ground in the second season, saying:
He’s a great choice because he isn’t Gerry 2.0. The experiences that have led him to this part of his life are very different than from what Gerry’s are. In season 1, there was a lot of conversation around loss. But that's not the only thing that happens to you later in life. In season 2, we are going to see what happens after divorce. We are going to go on a completely different journey with Mel than we were with Gerry.
I, like much of America, was really moved by the first season’s powerful conversations about grief and loss, with Gerry Turner bonding immediately with Theresa Nist over their shared experience. That theme continued into Season 2, where both Joan Vassos and her eventual fiancé Chock Chapple were both widowed as well.
Some cast members on both seasons, naturally, had gone through divorces, but The Golden Bachelor/Bachelorette didn’t delve too deeply into how that affected their dating lives, or the similarities and differences between how they grieved their marriages. I think it’s a valid conversation, because as the showrunner pointed out, there’s more than one reason you can be single in your golden years.
Faith Martin broached the topic in probably the most vulnerable way we’ve seen on any of The Bachelor shows when, on an episode of Bachelor in Paradise, she admitted to Kim Buike that it wasn’t until her ex-husband died that she realized she’d never grieved the end of their marriage.
Part of Mel Owens’ story going into the season is that he was too busy raising his sons — now 18 and 20 — to focus on dating, so I’m looking forward to digging deeper into that, as it’s not really a common conversation on any dating show. You can see a peek of who we’ll be meeting below:
While some in Bachelor Nation are wary of The Golden Bachelor Season 2 (myself included) due to Mel Owens’ controversial comments about dating women over 60, I think the topic of finding love in your golden years after divorce is an important one that hasn’t been truly explored yet. Talking about this could very well provide the relatability that brought so many viewers hope through Gerry Turner’s story.
If you want to tune in to see how Mel Owens’ season will differ from Gerry Turner’s, The Golden Bachelor Season 2 premieres at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, September 24, on ABC and streaming the next day with a Hulu subscription.
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